CU Buffs beat No. 9 Arizona to avenge heart-breaking loss

Colorado's Askia Booker puts up a shot over Nick Johnson of Arizona on Thursday in Boulder.

Colorado 3, Arizona 0.

That's how the scoreboard read two hours before Thursday night's game at the Coors Events Center.

It was not-so subtle reference to the Buffs' controversial loss on Jan. 3 in Tucson when Sabatino Chen's game-winning 3-pointer at the end of regulation was disallowed by officials.

In the end, CU didn't need the three points while avenging the overtime loss in the Pac-12 opener with a rousing 71-58 victory over No. 9 Arizona in front of a deafening sellout crowd of 11,120.

The Buffs (17-7, 7-5) opened the second half with a 10-0 run to seize a 15-point lead that proved to be too much to for the Wildcats (20-4, 8-4) to overcome in the rematch.

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 21 points and Xavier Johnson added 19 to lead CU to its second win over a ranked opponent in a week's time.

"We were disappointed with the way we closed it out (at Arizona) and it goes without saying we were disappointed with the call. It was arevenge game," Dinwiddie said. "Now I think we're more poised down the stretch. We got stops, which we didn't do down there. ... Tonight we held them to 58 points. You're going to beat most good teams if you do that."

Andre Roberson ripped down 13 more rebounds to give him 978 for his career, which moved the junior past the legendary Cliff Meely (971, 1968-71) for second on CU's all-time list

Dinwiddie, who was 6-for-6 from the field and 8-for-8 from the free throw line during Sunday's 72-68 win at Oregon State, missed all three shots he took before the intermission.

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But the sophomore point guard made three free throws after getting fouled behind the arc and added transition basket out of the halftime locker room to spark the Buffs.

Dinwiddie had 17 points in the second half, was 9-for-9 at the free throw line and had seven assists and two turnovers in 36 minutes.

"Spencer is growing up before our eyes, he's becoming one of the premiere guards in our league," CU head coach Tad Boyle said. "I wouldn't trade Spencer Dinwiddie for anybody."

Roberson is also a keeper. He splashed a 3-pointer to make the score 38-23 with 17:54 remaining.

Arizona, which overcame a 17-point deficit en route to the 92-83 win in the first meeting, closed the gap to 45-39 on a 3-pointer by Grant Jerrett.

And then Xavier Talton knocked down the biggest jump shot of his young CU career, a 3-pointer that sparked an 8-0 explosion.

The freshman guard from Sterling added a layup to restore the lead to 15 points (56-41) with 7:58 left.

Just before Talton's heroics, Boyle had planned to bring him out, but starting shooting guard Askia Booker made a different call.

"This is another testament to where our team is and the growth that we've made. I was ready to sub him out and put Ski back in the game and Askia said, 'Let him go,'" Boyle said. "When you've got players like that putting their best interest behind the team's best interest, you've got something special. ... And Xavier made a big-time shot."

Johnson, who set the tone for the Buffs with 12 points in the first half, hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put an end to the Wildcats' last stand.

Booker, coming off an 8-for-41 effort from the field during CU's three-game road trip, found the bottom of the net on a one-handed shot to give the Buffs a 68-53 lead with 2:41 to play.

"It felt great," Johnson said. "Losing at Arizona sucked and it felt great to get the win."

CU, which defeated then-19 Oregon 48-47 last Thursday, improved to 3-2 against ranked teams this season.

The Buffs host Arizona State on Saturday at the Coors Events Center.

"It means we've got to win on Saturday night," Boyle said when asked what the Valentine's Day redemption meant for the program. "Because Arizona State beat us in Tempe just like Arizona beat us in Tucson. We've just got to win the next game on our schedule."

Notable

Alec Burks, in his second season with the Utah Jazz, took advantage of All-Star weekend in the NBA to make the trip back to Boulder. Shannon Sharpe, who transferred to Cal Poly Pomona, also attended the game. ... CU's last win over a top-10 opponent was against No. 5 Texas on Feb. 26, 2011, when the Buffs rallied from a 22-point deficit for a 91-89 win in Boulder. ... John Elway and former CU football star Matt Russell, who both work in the Denver Broncos front office, were in attendance. So was former Buff and current Green Bay Packers kicker Mason Crosby.

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